The Pittsburgh Pirates are hanging in there in the N.L. Central
The Pittsburgh Pirates are in 3rd place in the N.L. Central with a 47-43 record which has them 1 game behind both the Cardinals and the Brewers. The Pirates are also only six games behind the Braves for the Wild Card. The Pirates should be buyers at the end of this month. They will be looking for a LF, SS and a catcher on the trade market but they don’t need any pitching which surprises the heck out of me. Here is a look at the players who made the biggest impact for the Pirates in the first half of the 2011 season:
Team MVP: 24-year old righty swinging Andrew McCutchen has been dropped to 3rd in the batting order this year and it has pumped up his production numbers for the Pirates. McCutchen has played in 88 games for the Pirates so far this year and he is 95 for 327 (.291 avg, .894 OPS) with 54 runs scored, 14 homers, 54 RBIs and 15 stolen bases. With a good second half, McCutchen could wind up being a 30/30 man.
Biggest Surprise: 28-year old righty starting pitcher Jeff Karstens came into this season with a 12-27 career record with a 5.07 ERA and a 1.44 WHIP in his first 89 games (50 starts). He has looked like a much different pitcher this year for the Pirates. Karstens has pitched in 19 games (15 starts) for the Pirates so far this year and he is 7-4 with a 2.55 ERA and a 1.07 WHIP. I’m not so sure Karstens can keep pitching like he is right now as he has allowed 17 homers in his first 98 2/3 innings this year.
Biggest Disappointment: 24-year old lefty swinging 3B Pedro Alvarez has been so bad for the Pirates that they have banished him to AAA. Alvarez has played in 36 games for the Pirates so far this year and he is 26 for 125 (.208 avg, .587 OPS) with 12 runs scored, 2 homers, 10 RBIs and 1 stolen base. Alvarez has already whiffed 42 times this year as pitchers have been making easy work of him.